President of Earth Day Network to speak at Esri User Conference

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San Diego, CA (July 9, 2019) - President of Earth Day Network, Kathleen Rogers, will speak at the Esri User Conference about the role citizen science plays in helping address the world’s most pressing environmental issues.

Rogers will speak on the panel “Citizen Scientists Making a Difference” from 10:00 am - 11:00 am PT on Tuesday, July 9th. She will be joined by the director of innovation at the Wilson Center, Anne Bowser.

The panel will discuss how one of Earth Day Network's initiatives, Earth Challenge 2020, will work together with the citizen science community to launch the world’s largest coordinated citizen science campaign in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in April 2020.

Earth Challenge 2020, a collaboration between Earth Day Network, the Wilson Center and Eco-Capitals Forum will engage millions of global citizens to collect more than one billion data points. This data will be based around six research areas: air quality, water quality, insect populations, plastic pollution, food sustainability, and climate change.

Through Earth Challenge 2020, citizen science volunteers will learn about their local conditions, and leverage information to inspire collaborative action and influence policy decisions.

Esri’s ArcGIS Hub will be used as a collaboration tool for this initiative. Key technology supporting this endeavor include ArcGIS Online applications such as Survey123 and Story Maps. Beyond 2020, EC2020 will create the infrastructure required for people to use citizen science to help understand and deliver the full suite of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Esri User Conference is the world’s largest GIS gathering, with over 19,000 participants and 1000 sessions.

Kathleen Rogers is available for interviews. To schedule an interview, please contact Denice Zeck at 202-355-8875.

About Us

Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day (1970), Earth Day Network works with more than 75,000 partners in 190 countries to build environmental democracy. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Learn more at earthday.org